Monday, 27 August 2012

Goodbye, Good Friends

A couple of days ago, someone asked me the date, and I said, "I think it's July 20th, maybe?" It feels like we have been on the go since the end of July... It makes me feel about 65 years old when I say it, but seriously, where did the time go? Anyone else feeling this way this summer?

So now it is the end of August. My entire family has come and visited us, and left. Expect some blogs on those visits. My cousin Laura married her best friend Ollie at a lovely wedding, and everyone had a fantastic time. Matthew & I had our anniversary, which we both forgot. Which means it's the end of August, and all of a sudden, a bunch of friends are leaving Cambridge to go back to their home countries.

On Friday, our German friends Andrea & Simon went back to Bonn with their beautiful girls Sibylla and Alma. Alma was born during their 6 month stay in the 'Breej, so Simon calls her his "Little Souvenir".

Sibylla and Elizabeth were great friends - in as much as 2 year olds can
be friends, which means they talked alot about each other, but as soon
as they saw each other neither of them was remotely interested in the
other. We will miss them so much. We had a barbecue with them before they left, which was a little nerve wracking as far as dinners go, because they are vegetarian. Luckily, they offered to bring some veggie sausages, and let me tell you: Linda McCartney's veggie sausages are delicious!

They had a little party in the courtyard the day before they left too:

And all the George Nuttall Closers came out:

And yesterday, we had a barbecue to celebrate our great friends, Anggi, Dippo & their daughter Bianca.

They are going back to Jakarta tomorrow morning. I am so sad they are leaving. We met Anggi this time last year, on their first day in Cambridge, and became instant friends. She was always there when I needed some extra carrots for a recipe, or when I didn't have any milk left, and it was great to have someone so close to just pop by for a coffee and a chat. I was so lucky that they moved into our complex, and I will miss them so much. We had a barbecue with them yesterday, and invited our Chilean friends Javiera & Nico, and their two boys Manuel & Arturo - they used to live here in George Nuttall Close, but have moved to a funky little studio house nearby. Dippo made us this really delicious Indonesian dish with bananas, chestnuts and coconut milk (and a bunch of other stuff, I'm sure) and we all had a great time.

I am so sad that both these families have left Cambridge. Making new friends is hard, and it has been more than wonderful having two great families only a few feet away. Anggi gave us an Indonesian tablecloth today, and so we had a beautiful table, and a vegetarian meal in honor of Andrea & Simon too! hee hee hee

So now I'm in this weird place: making friends is hard, and saying goodbye is even harder. I am only in Cambridge for three and a half more months. Part of me is not interested in making new friends, because I already have lots that I'm going to have to say goodbye to already. The other part of me thinks, "I better meet as many people as possible! I only have a few more months!!"

About Me

Our family moved to Cambridge on January 13, 2011. The following week, Matthew started a 2 year Research Fellowship in the Department of Physics at Cambridge University. Our daughter, Elizabeth, is now 9 months old, and both of us celebrated our 29th birthdays the month we moved. Who knows what lies ahead for us here in England?